by Alejandro Zuniga Sacks, Special for USA TODAY Sports

by Alejandro Zuniga Sacks, Special for USA TODAY Sports

CHICAGO - Landon Donovan entered the Gold Cup with uncertainty about his future with the U.S. men's national team. He ended it in the best way possible: with arms outstretched and screaming in joy before raising the championship trophy at Soldier Field.

On an afternoon in which the U.S. played without the leadership of head coach Jurgen Klinsmann and the playmaking abilities of Stuart Holden, Donovan put a resounding exclamation on the Gold Cup tournament. His dummy move created the Americans' only goal as they held off Panama 1-0 to earn the title for the first time since 2007.

In the midst of a physical defensive battle, the veteran midfielder lost his defender as he sprinted towards the net in the 68th minute. Instead of redirecting Alejandro Bedoya's low, driving cross, Donovan stepped over it, confusing goalkeeper Jaime Penedo. Midfielder Brek Shea finished the play with a quick tap into the open goal.

"I took a mighty swing at it and missed," Donovan said. "But it was enough to throw the goalie off."

Klinsmann was suspended from the game by CONCACAF after being ejected in the final minutes of the semifinal victory against Honduras. He ran to the field to congratulate his team after watching the game from a luxury box.

A month ago, Donovan's future with the national team was uncertain at best. He was returning from a self-imposed hiatus, and Klinsmann chose not to include him in the USA's summer World Cup qualifying contests. In many ways, the Gold Cup was the midfielder's opportunity to prove he belonged on the team.

Well, he didn't quite belong - he was a step faster and more skilled than every defender who tried to stop him. Donovan started every game of the Gold Cup, finishing atop the leaderboard with five goals scored and seven assists. He won the tournament's Golden Ball, given to its most valuable player, but more importantly, he showed that he has the speed and technique to make an impact at the highest level of the game.

After weeks of badgering from the news media, Klinsmann finally admitted that there's a "high probability" Donovan will partake in future World Cup qualifiers.

"This is not the end," Donovan said. "It's the end of the tournament, but hopefully this is just the beginning for a lot of us. We want to be a part of the bigger picture."

After dominating CONCACAF teams in the group stage of the Gold Cup, Donovan's misdirection was far from his only big play of the final against a stout Panamanian defense. He made several slicing runs across the field that led to attacking chances. He nearly had an assist to Clarence Goodson early in the second half, but his teammate sent the redirection wide. And Donovan was on the brink of tallying his 57th career goal on an unmarked header in the 56th minute, but buried his head in his hands after coming up empty.

In the 19th minute, Holden suffered a sprained knee on a collision and was forced to leave the game.

The Gold Cup victory earns the U.S. a spot in a two-team playoff against the winner of the 2015 Gold Cup. The winner of those contests will clinch a berth in the 2017 Confederations Cup.

Sunday's win wasn't exactly pretty, and players admitted that the slow build-up might have seemed a little boring. But when the final whistle blew, Donovan wasn't apologizing.

"We feel good about where we are," said the four-time Gold Cup winner. "To have a taste of that again was fun."